Ever since there has been a rise in the number of Real Estate projects in tier I and tier II cities, every developer has aimed to focus on providing the best in class amenities and facilities to attract the right kind of buyer and residents. Each new residential project these days has anywhere from 100 to 1000+ flats / units for sale. From the resident’s point of view a promising society is one that provides not just the basics of amenities like parking space, garden area, play area, connectivity to schools and malls, but also major fancy amenities like a swimming pool, gym, clubhouse, recreational areas and so on. Till a few years back, the projects that offered such facilities were certainly attracting more residents and buyers, developers could charge a premium for these amenities. However, today the situation is very different. All major developers have caught up in this game, and so every residential project has more or less the same amenities. Today, real estate projects are struggling to differentiate themselves, and desperate developers are investing in fancy landscaping and Italian marbles, with no guarantee of attracting prospective buyers and residents. The question is, what next?
With the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) in the Indian market, the new-age consumer is thinking of moving to a more fuel-efficient mode of transport that is also friendlier to their pocket and the environment. According to the government's think tank NITI Aayog, by 2030 around 10 million four wheeled electric vehicles will have hit the roads. The common problem they might face is where to charge their vehicle. An average person spends 8 to 14 hours of their day at home, which is a perfect window to fully charge their electric vehicle. This is also backed up with evidence in Europe and the US, where 50% to 80% of all EV charging occurs at home.
This transition to EVs is thus a huge opportunity for real estate developers and housing societies to compete on the real estate market. Providing EV charging facilities in parking areas can differentiate a project, and signal technological readiness and environment-friendliness to the new-age consumer when he buys or rents a new home. Imagine the brand value and recognition that a developer would gain by building “the first EV-ready residential township in state/country”!
Making a project EV-ready is not as expensive or difficult as it seems. It is not necessary to provide individual charging facilities in each personal parking space. In any case, doing so is not desirable, as providing Individual plug points will only give them 2-3 kW of power which will take 10 to 15 hours to charge a vehicle. These unsecured plug points might also invite theft and vandalization or other such undesirable situations with no means to track individual consumption.
The optimal solution for residential projects is to provide common charging bays (10 to 20 shared charging enabled spots) where any resident or visitor can plug-in their EVs. Separate charging areas may also be created for residents and visitors, if the parking areas are separated for security reasons. This would also allow societies to install faster 7 or 14 kW AC chargers which can charge even high-end EV models (from MG ZS EV to the upcoming Tesla Model S) in 4 to 6 hours thereby making it a valuable amenity. Common charging facilities are also an additional revenue stream for the developer or the society. Modern charging management systems allow building managers to effortlessly monitor electricity consumption and revenues.
To summarize, each new amenity that is introduced by a society results in increased rental income and value generation for the real estate developer and owner. Smart EV charging is the next step in creating value for real estate properties in India. The major benefits that real estate developers get from installing a common EV charging facility in their premises are:
Enhanced property sale and rental value
Additional revenue from EV charging
Future-proofing the project
Bringing in new visitors to the property, to use the visitor charging facility, thus becoming an EV charging “node” in the community
Improving the brand perception of the developer by promoting sustainability and clean transportation
As a developer, do you still want to wait and watch on this opportunity? Developers that do so are in clear danger of losing their competitive edge. It is much easier for developments that are still under-construction to design and allocate a common parking area for EV charging facilities than to rip and replace later. Xobolt can guide you through the whole process and provide seamless installation and operations solutions for EV charging facilities. At Xobolt we provide complete EV charging solutions for residential and commercial space. Our purpose is to provide affordable charging infrastructure where it matters. Developers interested to install EV charging facilities in their projects may directly contact us here. Do get in touch with us if you are ready to benefit from the EV Revolution.
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